Ethan snorted. “Didn’t last very long, did it?”
She seethed. Her tongue pressed to the backs of her teeth. Her palm itched to slap his smug face, but that wouldn’t serve anyone any good.
Nate came up beside her. “To be honest, it started long before that. I’ve been crazy about her for years. And I’m pretty sure it was mutual.”
His arm circled her waist and she covered his hand with hers, taking comfort from his presence. “Mostly,” she laughed. He gave her a squeeze and for a second, she forgot Ethan was towering over them.
Ethan turned his back to them and stepped a few paces away. The loud crack of his knuckles reached her ears and the bottom of her stomach dropped out. He’d never be okay with her and Nate. But it didn’t matter.
“I’m sorry you’re upset, Ethan. But I’m happy. You can accept it, or you can make yourself miserable over it.” She lifted her chin. “The choice is yours.”
He spun around sharply. “I’m trying to help you, for god’s sake. He’s with a new woman every night. Is that what you want? You think he’s going to be monogamous with you?”
Nate stiffened. “You’re a dumb fuck,” he breathed. Maddie reached over and pinched his arm. He didn’t flinch. He opened his mouth, but Ethan spoke over him.
“You almost got her killed!” His voice boomed around the room. “Clearly her welfare isn’t a priority to you.”
“She just took out the biggest drug lord on the west coast. You should be proud of her dammit! The FBI has been trying to nail him for—”
Maddie stepped between them before they tackled each other. She tried to steady her voice, searching for a calm that completely evaded her. “I brought him here. I went after Carlos because of Leila. If it weren’t for you, I’d likely be working with the FBI and wouldn’t have had to coerce Nate into helping me. But no, you took that from me too.”
The color drained from Ethan’s face and tension creased his eyes. “I—”
“No,” she said, her voice dropping several degrees. “I had to weasel my way into Carlos’s circle. You think you didn’t have a hand in that? If anyone almost got me killed, it was your nosey ass. You need to stop interfering with my life. I will do what I want, screw who I want, and be who I am. Or you can go fuck yourself.”
She pointed a finger at Nate, while keeping her eyes on her brother. “He blew me off every chance he got. Because he was too scared to cross you and ruin your friendship. But if you choose to let that happen, it’s your loss. And you’ll be pretty damn lonely.” Her body shook, but she forced herself to step out of his personal space.
Ethan dropped into the chair across the room, his head in his hands. Nate’s hand rested on her back, coasting his way down. She turned and he pulled her against him.
“You’d better only screw me from now on.” His eyes darkened possessively and she hid her smile behind her hand. Shit, had she really just said that to her brother?
“You forgot one thing though,” he said softly.
She looked up at him and frowned. “What?”
He led her over to Ethan and stopped a few feet short of his knees. Ethan didn’t lift his head, but his shoulders flexed. Nate cleared his throat and slowly, Ethan raised his chin. Fire still burned in his deep blue eyes, so much like hers, but it was more like the glow of an ember rather than the raging fire of barely-checked violence he’d shown before.
Nate pulled her closer to his side. “I love her, Ethan. I’ve never felt this way about anyone in my life. She’s right, I tried to fight it, but all I did was lose myself.” His voice turned rough and tears sprang to Maddie’s eyes. “Your blessing would mean the world to me.”
Her fingers stiffened on his pec. He lifted her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles, assuring her that whatever Ethan’s response was, it didn’t matter. Ethan made a low guffaw and pressed his back into the chair. His eyes came to her first.
“Is this true? You love him too?” Disbelief wrinkled his brow and spiked her temper. But Nate had managed to keep his in check, so she could too.
“Yes, I love him.”
He blew a long breath from his lips and his body sagged along with it. He shifted his feet under him and stood. “You don’t need my blessing. You didn’t have it when all this started.” His eyes shifted to Nate and his lip tucked in.
“Just take care of her, okay?” He leaned forward, cupped the back of Maddie’s head, and pressed a kiss to her brow. “Call me when you get home.” He turned and strode to the door.
Nate’s hand dropped hers and he followed him. “Dude, wait.”
Ethan’s steps slowed and he turned around. His face had lost the hard glint, but his body remained tense.
“Are we cool?” Nate rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. Ethan surveyed him, his expression unchanging and unreadable even to her.
He lifted his shoulder. “Like I said, you don’t need my blessing. You’re adults.” A twitch started at the corner of his eye. “If you hurt her, I’ll fucking kill you,” he ground out. His mouth twisted as if he debated whether to continue. “But if you make her as happy as she says she is… we’re cool.”
Nate’s teeth flashed in a big grin. He threw his arms around Ethan’s unmoving form. “I love you, bro… But I love your sister more.”
Ethan’s frown deepened as he slapped Nate on the back. Ethan had finally come around, and it hadn’t even ruined their friendship. Maddie’s heart soared, but all she wanted right now was to kick Ethan’s ass out the door and throw herself into Nate’s arms.
“You’ve got nothing to worry about,” Nate assured him. Ethan grunted, lifted his hand in a wave, and slipped out the door.
Her cheeks stung as her smile spread wide. She went to Nate, locking her arms around his neck and lifting her legs to his waist. He pulled her up, settling her comfortably in his arms.
“That wasn’t so bad,” he said softly. His eyes sparked mischievously at her.
She swatted his chest. “I told you. We could have started this months ago.” Her tone was chastising and playful, but what she’d said was true. They’d wasted time. Time that could have been spent together.
Nate’s face grew somber, his eyes softened. “True, but I’m just happy we’re here now. And when we get home, I hope you know you’re moving out of that fancy ass condo and into my shabby one.”
Maddie laughed, and Nate tossed her on the bed. She squealed as she hit the sheets and he tumbled down after her.
“Well, maybe we could move into mine. It does have underground parking, a hot tub, and there’s that huge glassed-in shower we could get a lot of use out of.”
Nate’s eyebrows rose. “Damn. You had me at the underground parking.” His teeth nipped her ear and she turned into him. It didn’t matter where the hell they lived. All that mattered was that they would finally be together.
Forever.
Epilogue
Nate lifted his phone for the tenth time in the last ten minutes. Where was she? She should have been done by now. Disappointment spread through him. Dammit, if she’d tanked it, he’d have to put on a good front. She’d promised to call the minute she got out. What if she’d been too upset to call and come right home?
He lifted the vase of two dozen pink roses and froze. Had he jumped the gun with the flowers, wine, and chocolate? Shit. If she came in disappointed and he had all this celebratory crap, she’d be even more upset.
Keys sounded in the front door and his blood turned to ice. He heard the loud thud of her hundred-pound handbag landing on the floor. He wouldn’t be surprised if it had dented the damn hardwood.
“Babe, are you home?”
Shit. Her voice didn’t sound elated… more casual. He turned to the pantry and opened the door—he had to hide the flowers.
“What’s that?”
He winced and turned slowly to face her. She’d ret
urned her hair to the rich auburn color a few weeks ago. Though he dug the blond highlights, it was nice to have her natural color back.
“It’s… uh… for you.”
The corner of her mouth lifted, but he still couldn’t read her.
“How did it go?”
She stepped forward, accepted the flowers, dropped her nose to a wide bloomed rose, and inhaled deeply. “Oh, my god, these are so gorgeous. Thanks honey, I love them.”
He welcomed the brush of her kiss, but all he wanted to know was how her test had gone. “Well?”
She set the flowers down and trailed her fingers over the box of her favorite dark chocolates. “Are these for me, too?”
He made an impatient sound. “No, they’re for the other person who lives here. Now would you stop torturing me please?”
She threw her head back and laughed, and then slid her sexy ass onto one of the white leather stools at the island. She propped her elbows on the counter and squinted her eyes at him.
“I think it’d be more fun if you guessed.”
He blew air through his lips. He was going to pay her back for this… later. He had his own kind of torture he could inflict. If he wasn’t so eager to find out, he’d use it right now as an interrogation tactic.
He scratched his head and shifted his lips in mock study of her. “Well, you haven’t broken anything… haven’t cursed or reached for the wine and chocolate yet… so I’d say you think you did pretty damn well.”
Her eyes glinted at him and she reached for the chocolates. His stomach twisted in knots. She lifted a small square to her lips and moaned, nearly making him blow his load in his pants.
He willed his soldier to focus for a few more seconds.
“I’d say I passed with flying colors, but I could be wrong.”
Pride surged through him. He let out a whoop of excitement and crossed the room, took her face in his hands and her lips in his mouth. The rich chocolate filled his taste buds, sending all kinds of kinky ideas through his lust-filled head.
He pulled away and pressed his forehead to hers. “I’m so fucking proud of you, baby. All that’s left is the Final Screening Process and you’re in, Agent Worth.” Damn, that sounded good. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree and she threw her arms around him.
“Now let’s go upstairs and celebrate.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her off the stool.
“Wait, we can’t yet. I have to go to the mall and get Riley’s baby shower gift.”
His shoulders slumped. Shit, he’d forgotten about their shopping plans. A week after they’d gotten back to Seattle and settled into Maddie’s apartment, Ethan had told him the news that he’d been trying to tell them while he and Maddie had been dodging his calls on the ship. Riley was pregnant and they were ridiculously happy.
With Ethan’s protective streak, Nate sure as hell hoped they’d have a boy.
“All right. But we’re making it quick. First thing we see type of thing. My dick is going to explode.”
Maddie bobbed her eyebrows at him. “This could be fun.” She licked her tongue over her bottom lip and he reached out and smacked her ass. She howled and swatted him on the way to the door.
Maddie had been right. He wished he could have been with her sooner. Had he known how happy and complete he’d feel, and that Ethan would have eventually calmed the fuck down, he’d have finished what he’d started the night of the wedding.
He smiled down at her as she walked, her eyelids lowered, a permanent smile on her full mouth, and a blush on her cheeks. Hell, he was just grateful he could do it any time he wanted now. Her hand wiggled into his and love spread through his heart, making it ache in his chest.
And she was all his.
Collect them all!
The Dangerous Distractions series
Cal Hart walks a blurred line of honor. The rock-hard former Marine has his lethal skills at the service of the highest bidder. Until a contract comes in to kill Lana Vanderpoel, a sultry, charismatic heiress and billionaire’s daughter. She’s way too sexy to end up at the wrong end of a silencer. So Cal takes the job—and starts planning how to get Lana to safety while he unearths who’s behind the threat . . .
Lana only knows she’s been kidnapped—and she’ll fight tooth and nail against whoever has snatched her from her life. Her stern-faced captor sends a tremor of ice through her veins, yet a thrill lies beneath her unease. He’s dark and dangerous, his body ripped, honed, and capable. But lust isn’t the same as trust—and whether or not she can believe what Cal’s telling her, there’s at least one person close to Lana who wants her dead . . .
Former military and ex-FBI agent Ethan Worth is searching for a new way to serve and protect. On a break in Beaufort, North Carolina, he may have just found it. It starts with saving a tipsy damsel in distress from a shady troublemaker. But it ends with the surprisingly sober beauty outraged by his rescue. That’s all Ethan needs for his expert instincts to kick into high gear . . .
Riley Jones is back in Beaufort for one reason only: to find her missing best friend, Hanna. If that means using herself as bait for the kind of guy who’d prey on a vulnerable young woman, so be it. She doesn’t need a rugged knight in shining armor like Ethan distracting her, and she doesn’t want his help. But it turns out she needs it. And together, as the heat between them rises, so does the danger. Until both their lives are on the line . . .
Enjoy the following excerpt from Abducted
Chapter 2
“Shit.” The spike of her five-inch pump caught on the foot well as she stepped out of the car. She grabbed the car door for support and righted herself.
“Go to bed. You’re drunk,” teased Carly from the driver’s seat. Lana tugged the hem of her tight minidress and leaned back into the car.
“Am not.” She stuck out her tongue, then grinned and shut the car door. She’d only had a glass or two of champagne the entire time they’d been at the nightclub, and was completely sober now. Well, mostly anyway.
The cool midnight air caressed her exposed skin. She waved good-bye as she approached the property gate, punched in the code, and waited as the wrought-iron hinges swung open. The stamped concrete drive split into two like the long tongue of a snake. One direction led off to the main house and wrapped itself around the mountainous stone fountain. The other path stretched to the guesthouse, where she lived. The isolation from the main house granted her the privacy she needed from her father and stepmother.
Her high heels scuffed against the slick concrete as she strode down the mouth of the one-hundred-foot drive. Patio stones dotted the grass off the drive to the guesthouse beyond the pool. A line of bushes and tall shrubs peppered the front of the guesthouse.
Thunder rumbled from the sky, and a raindrop plopped on her forehead. The fountain in the backyard gurgled as water rushed over the massive stones to collect at the pool beneath. In the daylight, the sounds from the fountain were calming, but tonight it was too loud. Too invasive. The smell of moisture hung in the air from the rain earlier. It was chilly, but a coat would have clashed with her outfit.
She opened up her rhinestone-encrusted clutch to fish out her house keys. A movement out of the corner of her eye made her feet hitch. She grasped her keys in her fist and scanned the yard around her. The breeze kicked up and rustled the leaves overhead.
Just the wind.
Large elm trees and strategically groomed shrubs decorated the grounds. Tonight, the brooding mosaic of shapes gave her the creeps. The Mediterranean-style monstrous house hovered behind her. One lone light on the main level switched off like a creature closing its eye. Anne, the maid, would be the only one home.
Once she disappeared into the back, Carly backed out of the drive. The headlights sliced through the night before vanishing. The sensor light above her head flickered before going out. Her spine stiffened. She stepped through the grass and
onto the patio stones, the safety of the guesthouse only feet away. Soon she would be in her cozy warm bed.
Carly dropping her off was a sour reminder that she still lived under the household of her parents and her lack of independence. At least in the guesthouse, she was concealed from their scrutiny and could come and go as she pleased. Thankfully, this weekend they were away for one of her father’s business meetings in Monaco. He wouldn’t find out until later in the week that she’d gone out tonight.
A shiver raced up her spine as the chilly breeze disturbed the placidity of the night. It was darker than usual. A cloud crept over the moon, shielding it against its will. The obscurity of its glow rippled in warning. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
Someone was watching her.
Her throat closed. Razor-sharp fear bit into her. Her eyes darted around the shadowed yard in search of a predator. Tall, freshly groomed shrubs swayed in the breeze. Goose bumps raced over her flesh. Paranoia bubbled up in her throat and threatened to strangle her.
She braced for the attack, but it didn’t come.
Get a grip, Lana.
She stabbed her key into the lock and swung the door open. Inside the house, her hand sought the light switch and flicked it on. She slammed the door, her fingers fumbling as she snapped the lock shut.
She was too old to be getting spooked.
At least for tonight, the closeness of the main house was a slight comfort. She raced from room to room and flicked on every light.
Empty.
She exhaled a pent-up breath.
She dropped onto the edge of her bed and began to undo her shoes. Her fingers stilled on the clasp of the black leather strap. Her eyes fixed on the closet door. Had she left it closed? She couldn’t remember. The room crackled with tension. Her heart beat triple time. Her breath came out in short, sharp puffs.
Exposed Page 24
